Just got a DVD player for my Toughbook CF-72,

To view DVD with Windows Media Player I need a DVD decoder.

doe anyone have a recommendation of a good one that works with Window Media player? Free is good

?

unless there's something special (encoding wise) about your DVDs, WMP should be able to play them just fine ...

i've also got InterActual as a DVD player and WinDVD from InterVideo, both of which were free and work great ...
Andy

I get an error in WMP when i insert a dvd stating that I need a DVD decoder.

I have WMP ver 10


CDs work fine in this drive

I used this tool from microsoft

Tool


and there is no DVD decoder install on this machine

Ill try one of the ones you mentioned

strange ...

i got the latest WMP (10) and it plays DVDs just fine ...
Andy

Windows Media Player does not come with a DVD codec--it's a patent issue. If your Windows Media player plays a DVD is because you have another program installed on your computer like WinDVD, Studio 10 etc etc that had the codec as part of its install.

Codecs are available online but none of them are free. There are a couple out there that claim to be free and work great but are backloaded with spyware--stay away! I have their names at work if your are interested.

Here is a free DVD player that is spyware free. It won't make your media player play DVDs but it will play them.
Videolan

Various places sell the codec for around $20.
Mark

well that explains it ...

btw. i got WinDVD for *free*. came on a DVD i rented ...
Andy

OK I got a DVD decoder from Roxio.

The dvds now play, but no video all i get is the soundtrack.

so... of to leap the next hurdle.

I wonder if the machine is to old?

Panasonic Toughbook CF 72, 850Mhz, 512 ram, Ati Rage Mobility chipset

I'll second using Video Lan

The machine may be to old to play a DVD using some newer software. V Lan is like a swiss army knife for playing video. Will pretty much play everything.

Your machine is not too old.
What operating system are you running? XP I assume?
The Roxio requirements:
The DVD Decoder is designed for Microsoft Windows XP, and requires Windows Media Player.

Hardware:
Pentium II 400 MHz Processor with MMX Extensions (Sonic CinePlayer DVD Decoder Pack for Windows XP can perform satisfactorily in a lower-speed system when the VGA adapter includes hardware video acceleration features such as motion compensation or iDCT using DirectX VA)
Bus-Mastering DVD-ROM Drive
32MB System RAM
Supports a variety of VGA cards
Playback of DVD disc-based media requires a DVD drive.

A couple of things come to mind...
First upgrade to the latest version of Media Player 10 if you haven't already.

Sometimes harware acceleration does funny things when it comes to video, expecially if you are using a projector connected to your computer.

Here is a couple of things to try:
1. Open Media Player 10 and go to Tools> Options> Performance. Turn the hardware acceleration slider down to 1/2. Close media player and try your DVD again.
2. Right click on desktop> Properties> Settings>Advanced> Troubleshoot> lower slider to left until you see "Disable all direct draw.." OK close windows try again.
Good Luck,
Mark

Yay!!!

working!!

thanks for the tips